Albatross
Ok, so Mary Lynn Jones doesn't exactly call former President Clinton an albatross, but she does claim that he may overshadow current Democratic White House aspirants, to the detriment of the Party (here). She points to Clinton's new gig at 60 Minutes, his recent public speeches and interviews, and his upcoming books as events that take attention away from other Democrats. While I think this is a fair criticism, I am not so sure that the solution is for Clinton to exit the stage altogether. He remains extremely popular with large swaths of voters and that alone is reason for him not to become merely a behind the scenes player. Perhaps the difficult period is now as candiates are trying to get voters to notice them. It is probably not good for Clinton to suck up all the oxygen. His strengths would be better used once the Party has selected its candidate. In the meantime he could do all the behind the scenes work that is so crucial to retaking the White House in 2004.